Upon learning that Shentu Yang had led fifty thousand elite troops deep into Goguryeo, Yin Shuhuai and Yao Wenruo, who had been left behind to guard the home front, looked at each other in surprise.

“The Lord of the State has already led the main army deep into enemy territory, so I am afraid the two million dan of grain raised by Your Majesty will not be put to its original use,” Yao Wenruo said calmly as he set down the victory dispatch sent back from Liaoyang County.

No one had expected the campaign in Xuantu Commandery to conclude so rapidly. Yet, such a feat was well within everyone’s expectations. Years ago, when Shentu Yang led tens of thousands of troops to strike the Xiongnu, he had similarly marched deep into the steppes, striking directly at the Xiongnu royal court and forcing them to flee north in panic. Shentu Yang had then returned in triumph, having plundered millions of cattle and sheep, over one hundred thousand slaves, and tens of thousands of horses.

Looking at the situation now, Goguryeo’s combat strength was far inferior to that of the Xiongnu. An army of one hundred thousand was completely routed at the very first clash with Shentu Yang’s fifty thousand elite troops. With their fighting capacity being so weak, one could not help but wonder where they got the nerve to attack Xuantu Commandery in the first place.

Yao Wenruo was somewhat perplexed. Did Goguryeo not know that the State of Yan had changed its ruler? Did they think Yan was still the same useless regime of the past, which could only watch helplessly as the northern tribes marched south to plunder?

Yao Wenruo shook his head with a look of disdain. After this single battle, he no longer took Goguryeo seriously. However, Yin Shuhuai viewed Shentu Yang’s deep march into Goguryeo quite differently.

“Since the Duke of Yan intends to take down Goguryeo, why don’t we use this grain to mobilize a large force to clear the wilderness and establish military agricultural colonies in Goguryeo?” Yin Shuhuai mapped out the plan with some excitement.

The ancestors were right. A change of environment brings new life, and here was the perfect opportunity to expand their borders. Yin Shuhuai intended to turn all the territory Shentu Yang conquered into the domain of the Yin Dynasty. Hearing this, Yao Wenruo was somewhat dazed. Wait a moment, when did the Duke of Yan ever say he wanted to conquer Goguryeo? How come he did not know about it?

“That is not important,” Yin Shuhuai dismissed the thought with a sweeping wave of his hand, projecting a grand, world-conquering aura.

Back then, when Shentu Yang led his army deep into Xiongnu territory and forced their royal court to flee north in panic, he had only brought back cattle, sheep, horses, and slaves. He had left that massive expanse of land completely unattended, allowing other nomadic tribes to stealthily occupy it. Yin Shuhuai had always found that a pity.

However, nothing could have been done about it at the time. Soon after, the Central Plains erupted into a chaotic mess as various regional lords marched to the capital to rescue the Emperor. In order to achieve his goal of controlling the Emperor to command the lords, Shentu Yang hurriedly led two hundred thousand troops south, leaving him with absolutely no spare energy to occupy the Xiongnu lands.

But things were different now. Ever since the imperial court relocated the capital, prominent families, noble clans, and millions of displaced refugees had all gathered in You and Bing provinces. Right now, they did not lack money or manpower; they only lacked good development projects. And as everyone knew, the territory of Goguryeo spanned across what would later be the Northeast region and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

It was worth noting that the Northeast region of later generations was famously known as a granary. Not only did it possess fertile black soil and vast expanses of arable land, but its climate also featured concurrent rain and heat, making it highly suitable for crop growth. This was the main reason why, despite its long winters and single-crop farming cycle, the Northeast still enjoyed the fine reputation of being a granary.

Yao Wenruo listened to the Emperor describe the wonderful blueprint where nature was so bountiful that wildlife practically jumped into the cooking pot, and he could not help but swallow his saliva.

No one in this world could resist the temptation of expanding the empire’s borders. This was true for wise rulers, and it was equally true for virtuous ministers.

However, the pressing matter at the moment

Yin Shuhuai looked at the memorial sent back by the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau. The achievements of the wartime emergency medical teams had fully proven the necessity of their presence on the battlefield. The next step was to expand the scale of these medical teams.

“Have the Imperial Medical Bureau continue to recruit students, and send those who pass the training to Liaoyang County for internships. Let Physician Zhang establish a wartime rescue medical office in Liaoyang County. Furthermore, we must have people continue to train the medical team members in riding and archery. They do not need to fight enemies on the front lines, but they must at least be able to protect themselves properly… Let the Palace Domestic Bureau continue to develop powerful single-handed composite crossbows and small sleeve-arrows…”

Yin Shuhuai spoke as the ideas came to him. Shentu Yang’s earlier dismissive attitude toward the medical team made Yin Shuhuai fully realize one thing, which was the absolute necessity of improving the combat capabilities of the medical team members. They did not need to become gods of war, but they had to be trained into qualified field support.

Objectively speaking, during the medical team’s journey with the army to Xuantu Commandery, no one had held the forces back. In fact, it could even be said that the emergence of the medical team directly reduced the number of casualties in this campaign by two-thirds compared to other siege battles. This also made Shentu Yang fully realize the value of these medical soldiers. That was why Shentu Yang had left all the medical soldiers in Xuantu Commandery when he led his army deep into Goguryeo.

It was precisely because of Shentu Yang’s decision that Yin Shuhuai realized the limitations of his own thinking. The reason he had previously selected palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial physicians to form the wartime emergency medical team was, for one, because he was constrained by Huo Yan at the time and could only access these people. Secondly, he wanted to find something for the more than ten thousand palace maids and eunuchs to do.

But thinking about it now, his initial decision had its positive aspects, but it was also somewhat short-sighted. If the medical team members were to accompany the main army onto the battlefield or even venture deep behind enemy lines, Yin Shuhuai’s original plan of having physicians, eunuchs, and palace maids serve as mobile medical soldiers was actually not very suitable. Perhaps he should consider the approach used by special forces units of later generations, directly teaching the soldiers in the army about battlefield first aid and bandaging. They could screen out soldiers who had battlefield combat experience and a talent for emergency medical care, and then train them to serve as mobile medical troops.

As for the original members of the wartime emergency medical team, they could serve as instructors to teach battlefield first aid knowledge to the soldiers in the army. Alternatively, they could establish wartime emergency medical offices along the border, allowing the medical team members to treat wounded soldiers in the relatively safe rear. After all, training a qualified wartime emergency medical soldier was truly no easy task. Even with Yin Shuhuai’s full support as the Emperor, only about one thousand such people had been trained within three years. If these people were to die on the battlefield, it would indeed be a terrible waste. It would be better to keep them in more suitable positions where they could play a greater role.

Yao Wenruo listened patiently to the Emperor’s instructions. Although the Emperor always liked to unintentionally use some unfamiliar terms that no one quite understood when speaking, this did not hinder Yao Wenruo from grasping the Emperor’s meaning. Instead, it made Yao Wenruo view the Emperor’s world-shaping talent with even greater awe, as if he were a divine being.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the civil and military officials of the entire court were also incredibly thrilled upon learning that the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, had already led a fifty-thousand-strong army deep into Goguryeo, and that the imperial court was about to establish commanderies and counties on Goguryeo’s territory.

Originally, everyone had looked down on the Emperor’s use of clever pretexts to issue national debt and raise grain from the prominent families and noble clans. Looking at it now, if the imperial court could truly conquer Goguryeo in one fell swoop, extensively establish commanderies and counties, and clear the wilderness for agricultural colonies on Goguryeo’s territory, did that not mean their prominent families and powerful clans would have more opportunities to display their talents?

After all, establishing commanderies and counties required officials to manage them, right? Clearing the wilderness and setting up agricultural colonies also required people to till the land, right? And if there was one thing their prominent families and powerful clans had plenty of, it was people and money!

At this moment, everyone gradually began to appreciate the benefits of the imperial court relocating the capital.

If the capital of the Yin Dynasty were still in Luoyang, even if Shentu Yang led the Yan army to conquer Goguryeo, the imperial court would have abandoned the governance of Goguryeo due to various reasons. It would have been even more impossible to transform Goguryeo’s territory into commanderies and counties of the Yin Dynasty or to implement the policy of clearing the wilderness for agricultural colonies. Because the territory was simply out of reach, the imperial court would obviously not waste its energy and financial resources on a remote corner.

But after the imperial court relocated the capital to You Province, the situation became completely different.

Thanks to the full support of the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, the Yin Emperor’s control over the State of Yan reached an unprecedented height. Furthermore, You Province bordered the Bohai Sea, allowing them to easily sail south to the Jiangnan region via sea routes, which invisibly strengthened the imperial court’s control over the southern provinces and commanderies—something the landlocked old capital of Luoyang could never achieve. At the same time, the borders of Yan connected with Goguryeo, the Xiongnu, the Qiang and Hu tribes, and the Samhan states, which established the perfect geographical conditions for Yan to expand its territory.

Ever since the Yin Emperor handed the production method of refined salt over to Yao Wenruo, Yao Wenruo had secretly opened salt pans in You Province, refining salt day and night without pause. This refined salt was then sold by the merchant caravans of major prominent families and powerful clans to various commanderies, counties, and even into the territories of the nomadic tribes. Massive amounts of wealth flowed along with the refined salt trade, gathering in You Province—a northern commandery that was originally bitter, cold, and remote. This also allowed the deeply resentful prominent families and powerful clans to rediscover a goal to strive for.

They wanted to regain control over the lifeblood of the imperial court, manage the lands of Yan, and expand the empire’s borders.

Therefore, when Yin Shuhuai saw the high officials—who had been slacking off in court for a while due to Shentu Yang’s forced relocation of powerful families—actually taking the initiative to enter the palace to audience the Emperor after the imperial court session, loyally expressing their willingness to support His Majesty in establishing commanderies and counties in Goguryeo and recommending the young talents of their clans to serve as the chief officials of these commanderies and counties, he was completely unfazed.

One could not blame the prominent families and powerful clans for being so confident, thinking that as long as they showed a tiny bit of superficial loyalty, Yin Shuhuai would definitely put them in important positions. It was truly because in this era, the only ones who could afford an education were the children of prominent families, and the only ones who could come out to serve as officials were also the children of prominent families.

Even though Yin Shuhuai had already had the Palace Domestic Bureau develop paper and woodblock printing, opening community schools nationwide, it would take at least three years to train minor officials who were actually useful. To train great talents who could completely replace the children of prominent families, it would take even longer.

In other words, for at least ten years, the prominent families and grand clans had absolutely no need to worry about the Emperor bypassing them to get things done. As for what the situation would look like several decades later… who could tell?

The prominent families and noble clans, who had already shared the rule of the world with the monarchs for over six hundred years, obviously had immense confidence in themselves. They did not believe that the dirt-poor peasants who were still working the fields today could replace the prominent families and powerful clans to become the new rulers of the imperial court in just a few short decades.

Even if those dirt-poor peasants truly possessed such ambitions, so what? It would simply be the rise of yet another prominent family.

As long as they wanted to climb upward and become a new prominent family, they would have to abide by the rules of the prominent families.

And the person who set the rules had never been the Emperor.